Qualification system
A total of 142 quota spots are available to athletes to compete at the games. A maximum of 18 athletes can be entered by a National Olympic Committee, with a maximum of 9 men or 9 women. There is also an "Additional Athletes Quota" which allows up to a maximum of 5 more total skaters, bringing the potential total to 147. The host (Italy) is the priority for these additional places so that if they have met minimum standards they may have an entry in each event, other than the team event. If unused, these five quotas can be used to qualify nations for the team event if they only need an entry in one more discipline. [1]
Skater qualification
There is no individual athlete qualification to the Olympics; the choice of which athlete(s) to send to the Games is at the discretion of each country's National Olympic Committee. Each country is allowed a maximum of three entries per discipline, resulting in a maximum of 18 athletes (nine men and nine women) possible per country.
According to ISU rules, countries must select their entries from among skaters who have achieved a minimum combined total technical elements score (TES) at an ISU-recognized international competition on or before 26 January 2026. [1]
Country qualification
The number of entries for the figure skating events at the Olympic Games is limited by a quota set by the International Olympic Committee. A total of 142 quota spots are available to athletes to compete at the games. There will be 29 skaters each in the disciplines of men's and women's singles, 19 pair skating teams, and 23 ice dance teams. Additionally, ten nations qualify for the team event.
Countries will be able to qualify entries to the 2026 Winter Olympics in two ways. Most spots are allocated based on the results of the 2025 World Championships. At the event, countries will be able to qualify up to three entries in each discipline according to the following system which differs slightly from the qualification to the 2026 World Championships. According to ISU rule 400, nations cannot directly qualify more quotas than are entered, and only entries that perform in the free skate are considered. [2] Every discipline qualifies independently.
At the World Championships, the system is as follows:
| Number of skaters/teams in free skate at Worlds | To earn 3 entries directly to the Olympics | To earn 2 entries directly to the Olympics | To earn 1 extra entry to September qualifying competition | To earn 1 entry directly to the Olympics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | | Finish in top ten [a] | Be ranked high enough among single entries within qualifying limits of competition |
| 2 | | Total placements is equal to or less than 28 | Total placements is equal to or less than 13 | |
| 3 | Top two placements is equal to or less than 13 | Top two placements is equal to or less than 28 | |
- According to the ISU's Rule 378(2), any competitor who qualified for the free program received a maximum placement score of 16, and any competitor who failed to qualify for the free program received a maximum placement score of 18. [2]
- ↑ NOC could also have a second skater not in the free skate where the placement total does not exceed 28.
Qualification spots available per tournament
The results of the 2025 World Championships will determine 83 total spots: 24 entries in each singles discipline, 16 in pairs, and 19 in ice dance. The available spots will be award going down the results list, with multiple spots being awarded first.
The remainder of the spots will be filled at an ISU Qualifying Competition in Beijing, China in late September 2025. Countries that had already earned an entry to the Olympics will not be allowed to qualify additional entries at this final qualifying competition. However, if a country earned two or three spots at the World Championships, but did not have two or three skaters, respectively, qualify for the free skate, then they were allowed to send a skater who did not reach the free segment at World Championships to the competition to qualify the remaining spot(s). Unlike at the World Championships, where countries could qualify more than one spot depending on the placement of their skater(s), at the Qualifying Competition, countries could earn only one spot per discipline, regardless of ranking. The ISU has decided that 6 politically evaluated and screened skaters from Russia and 6 from Belarus can qualify as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN), and only from the final qualifying competition. Accordingly they will only be able to qualify one quota per discipline and will not be eligible for the team trophy. [3]
If a country declines to use one or more of its qualified spots, the vacated spot is awarded using the results of the ISU competition in descending order of placement.
For the team trophy, scores from the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships and the 2025–26 Grand Prix season, will be tabulated to establish the ten top nations. Each nation compiles a score from their top performers in each of the four disciplines. The Grand Prix Final, taking place in early December 2025, will be the final event to affect the Team Trophy score.
Qualification timeline
| Event | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 World Figure Skating Championships | 26–30 March 2025 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| ISU Skate to Milano | 19–21 September 2025 | Beijing, China |
